U.S. retailers' same-store sales fell 0.6% last week, the third straight week-to-week decline, raising concern that stores will miss sales forecasts this holiday season, according to data released Tuesday. Bank of Tokyo economist Michael Niemira cut his estimate for November-December same-store sales to a gain of 2% to 4%, from a 4% rise. Winter storms in the Midwest and South-Central U.S. damped demand, he said. Shopper traffic at malls fell 9.6% in the seven days ended Dec.

U.S. retailers' same-store sales fell 0.6% last week, the third straight week-to-week decline, raising concern that stores will miss sales forecasts this holiday season, according to data released Tuesday. Bank of Tokyo economist Michael Niemira cut his estimate for November-December same-store sales to a gain of 2% to 4%, from a 4% rise. Winter storms in the Midwest and South-Central U.S. damped demand, he said. Shopper traffic at malls fell 9.6% in the seven days ended Dec.

In a bid to grab a bigger chunk of California's lucrative home repair market, Sears, Roebuck & Co. said Thursday that it will buy the San Jose-based Orchard Supply Hardware chain in a $415-million deal. Sears plans to accelerate Orchard's expansion into Southern California, as well as stock the mid-size stores with Sears' popular hardware brands. The deal would boost Sears' existing hardware store operations, none of which are in California.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. said Chief Operating Officer Julian Day will resign after Alan Lacy, who will become chief executive Oct. 1, decided to eliminate the "office of the chief executive," an advisory post the two men shared with retiring Chairman Arthur Martinez. Sears said that Day, 47, will "pursue other interests." No other details were provided. Day, a former executive with supermarket chain Safeway Inc.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. said Chief Operating Officer Julian Day will resign after Alan Lacy, who will become chief executive Oct. 1, decided to eliminate the "office of the chief executive," an advisory post the two men shared with retiring Chairman Arthur Martinez. Sears said that Day, 47, will "pursue other interests." No other details were provided. Day, a former executive with supermarket chain Safeway Inc.

The nation's biggest retailers on Thursday issued mixed sales reports for August, with apparel retailers and department stores faring better than mass merchandisers during the back-to-school season. Industry analysts continued to detect signs that consumers are still hesitant about making big purchases. "We saw good sales in the apparel department, but many of the other departments show a cautious consumer," said Walter Loeb, an analyst with Morgan Stanley & Co.

The nation's biggest retailers today issued mixed sales reports for August, with department and apparel stores benefiting from back-to-school business but mass merchandisers suffering through another month of lackluster results. Industry analysts said consumers continued to spend carefully. "These are not boom times, and we see a cautious consumer," said Walter Loeb, an analyst with Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. "I believe we are heading for a slow-growth period."

Sears Holdings Corp. overcame a steep sales drop-off at its namesake department stores to more than double its fiscal fourth-quarter profit, saying Wednesday that it benefited from continued cost cutting and the addition of Sears' results to Kmart's. Net income for the quarter ended Jan. 28 was $648 million, or $4.03 a share, up from $309 million, or $3.09, a year earlier. That easily exceeded the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who had pegged earnings at $3.

Question: Last year, black and white dresses were very much in vogue. This year, they look like last year. How do I bring my black and white chemise dress into 1985? It's white silk with a diagonal band of black silk from shoulder to hip, and it ends at mid-calf.--C.H. Answer: You change its look from last year's graphic geometrics to this year's romantic movement via accessories. First, cinch your dress with a belt, thereby shortening it to the now fashionable just-below-the-knee length.

In a bid to grab a bigger chunk of California's lucrative home repair market, Sears, Roebuck & Co. said Thursday that it will buy the San Jose-based Orchard Supply Hardware chain in a $415-million deal. Sears plans to accelerate Orchard's expansion into Southern California, as well as stock the mid-size stores with Sears' popular hardware brands. The deal would boost Sears' existing hardware store operations, none of which are in California.

Sears Savings Bank has appointed three executives in a realignment of senior management "to streamline decision making," said John J. Detterick, chairman and chief executive the Glendale-based company. Ronald F. Danner has been named executive vice president and head of the 100-branch retail banking division; Edward B. Babcock has been appointed senior vice president in charge of administrative services, and L. Norton Wrisley has been named senior vice president-finance.

Transworld Corp., which last year spun off Trans World Airlines into a separate company, said Tuesday that it now wants to sell its Century 21 Real Estate Corp. subsidiary, the nation's largest real estate franchise firm. Financial analysts estimated Transworld will get between $125 million and $200 million for Irvine-based Century 21, which had operating earnings of $20 million in 1984 on revenue of $64.1 million.